Sam In Benayoun Regret

By Mark Heys
October 26 2005

Sam Allardyce still regrets losing out to West Ham United in the race to sign Israeli play maker Yossi Benayoun from Spanish team Racing Santander.

Allardyce admits that Bolton could have gone a little bit further towards persuading the in-form midfielder to join the Reebok Stadium ranks ahead of a move to East London.

"We were very close to signing Yossi, We were in the boardroom and Yossi had a pen in his hand ready to sign." said Allardyce

"We could have gone that extra mile but because we didn't we lost out. It's a failure on our part - he has started very well for West Ham." he added

Benayoun has been a revelation since his £2.5 million move to Upton Park and has made a similar impact to that of former Hammers favourite Eyal Berkovic. The player himself states that a move to the capital was always his first choice to begin with.

"My agent and family knew West Ham was my priority. I knew I would enjoy it a lot more and get a more central role." Benayoun stated